Citizen Patriot | Aaron AupperleeFirefighters clear smoke Tuesday night from a house on Lake Columbia after a fire. Flames damaged the back side of the summer home. No one was in the house when the fire started.

Fire damaged a summer home Tuesday night on Lake Columbia.

No one was home when the fire started at 136 Riviera Drive. The owners of the home left for Florida about a month ago, said John Cini, a neighbor.

The fire started about 7:30 p.m. Next-door neighbor Brett Hartley called 911. He was out checking his mail when he smelled smoke. Thinking it was neighborhood children playing with fireworks, he went back inside his house. Then he saw a spark and flames inside the house next door.

"Tons of flames," Hartley said.

When Columbia Township firefighters arrived, they broke down the front door with an ax, spewing smoke into the neighborhood, Hartley said. Hartley and Cini did not know how much damage was done inside the house. The second story facing the lake looked badly burned. The siding was charred and falling off the house.

Despite gusting winds off the lake, firefighters were able to keep flames from spreading to nearby houses. Crews from Addison, Cambridge Township, Grass Lake Township and Napoleon Township assisted.